Pasture to Palate

We are a family in the business of raising, processing, and directly selling hearty, wholesome pasture-raised meats in ways that would be familiar to our grandfathers. We are, in short, reinventing local, small-scale agriculture in a way that respects land, animals, and people.

About Us

We believe that responsible, small-scale agriculture is a critical, and currently largely missing key to a responsible economy. Our mission is the production of humane and sustainable beef. We know that managing land well can restore the biodiversity that our landscapes are losing at a frightening rate. We have a biological plan to manage our land holistically, all our decisions are goal driven to ensure that they are socially, economically and environmentally sound. We are dedicated to improving our watersheds, our animals' lives, and the connection between urban consumers and rural producers.

We share our ranch with a variety of wildlife: mule deer, javelina, quail, rabbits and rattlesnakes, to name just a few. Coyotes, bobcats, and the occasional mountain lion are an important part of the balance. We feel that this balance is far more important than any economic loss we may incur losing a calf or two to a predator. Therefore, unless an animal is rabid or deviant, we do not control them.

Paul & Sarah Schwennesen returned to Double Check Ranch after ten years in the Air Force and completing their graduate work. They took over much of the "business" in December, 2007 and have been steadily growing it ever since in an effort to make the operation sustain two families. Their three children, Katherine, Timothy and Anne are blossoming in the lifestyle. Eric and Jean Schwennesen began marketing grassfed beef nearly two decades ago, long before "grassfed" was "in." They have turned much of the day-to-day processing and marketing over to Paul and Sarah while they focus their attention on production and land management.

About Our Ranch

The ranch headquarters lies on the western side of the Lower San Pedro River valley, facing east across the vast lands of the San Carlos Apache Nation. This is the heart of the region made famous during the U.S. Cavalry’s 1873-1880 western campaign under General George Crook. The land lies in the remarkable transition zone between Sonoran Desert, Chihuahuan Grassland, and Oak Woodland, fringed by the gallery forests of the Lower San Pedro River.

The other half of the operation is located at Cold Creek Ranch on the New Mexico border along the Mogollon Rim just east of Clifton. Together roughly 12,000 acres are under the direct management and care of the Double Check Ranch family enterprise. We attempt to supply as much of the beef as we can directly from our herd and our land, but demand is such that for years we've been sourcing cattle from a network of friends, neighbors, and regional ranches that raise to our specifications.

Here's a group of young steers at the drinker. The packinghouse is just behind the trees...